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I checked back in with my reader's from the Summer Reading Series. Here's where they are and what they said- An Aesthete's Lament
The one I am reading right now?I just finished (last night) "Rage for Fame," a biography of Clare Boothe Luce ... The next book I shall read is "Conversation Pieces" by Mario Praz ...
There is a growing stack (In House, More is More - Tony Duquette, and the new book on David Hicks among them) that I have not even had a chance to look at. This is a very bad habit. I still haven't yet read Pat Montadon's book (2007) or Kevin Sessum's Mississippi Sissy (2007). And, the books I ordered last week (Divas on Screen being among those) are due in on Tuesday! But I digress, in answer to your question I am currently reading: Madeleine Vionnet by Pamela Golbin (new), Wallace Neff and the Grand Houses of the Golden State by Diane Kanner (2005), and Mother of Sorrows by Richard McCann (2005)
And undoubtedly next week I will look at the bookcase with all my unread books and think, but, there is nothing to read! Oh, the caprice of it all.
JCB Oh, I am never reading just one book! Right now: Angela Davis-Gardner, Plum Wine.
"A mystery that unfolds as beautifully, delicately, and ceremoniously as a lotus blossom. One of the most memorable novels I have read in many years." —Lee Smith, author of The Last Girls
& Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Blithedale Romance. I am organizing my book week for next month...and will finally write that little piece on seasonal reading you suggested (inspired by the Paris Review interviews).le style et la matiereBooks? You do mean books, don't you? The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (rereading - inspired by a certain LA post); The Art of Arts by Anita Albus profound reflections on painting, art, symbols of human life through an examination of Dutch art and thinkers of various cultures; Decorating is Fun by Dorothy Draper (I understand Jennifer Boles' inspiration; they are both light and breezy but get down to important brass tacks in an original way); Ghost Stories by Edith Wharton (seasonal yes, but I'd never read these and they are worth reading at anytime)... Mrs BlandingsI am reading the Cecil Beaton biography by Hugo Vickers &
Emily Evans Eerdmann’s Classic English Design and Antiques. Can’t wait to see what else is on everyone’s bedside tables!
& Me
If nothing else-checking back in with all makes me know I am not alone. As HOBAC says of his growing stack-And undoubtedly next week I will look at the bookcase with all my unread books and think, but, there is nothing to read! Oh, the caprice of it all.
Currently reading- Clarence John Laughlin Prophet Without Honor by A.J. Meek, along with reviewing his published photography books. When I want to switch it up- I go to Ottoline Morrell: Life on theGrand Scale by Miranda Seymour.
On my groaning bedside table, next up- Journey Into The Mind's Eye by Lesley Blanch and The House of Life by Mario Praz. Both books recommended by AAL and the Lesley Blanch book by Lucindaville. On the book's jacket, Blanch writes "My book is not altogether autobiography, nor altogether travel or history either. You will just have to invent a new category." In the fiction category-Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel the 2009 Booker Prize winner.
When I heard about the book IN HOUSE- soon to be released title from Mitchell Owens- I closed my eyes, clicked my heels together three times and said There's no Place like Home-then I rushed to preorder- and will continue to repeat my mantra every day until that book arrives here in my own home.
Go order, get a first edition, I can play around because- I've preordered several copies-How many? I won't divulge.
but I do want my readers and my design clients to get IN HOUSE -You often ask "what are he best design books to buy?" Here It Is.
If you don't know the name- Where have you been?-&- You will. The pairing of Mitchell Owens, writer- Elle Decor, Nest, Architectural Design, the NYTimes, and the TIMES Magazine (my favorite is Pauline on My Mind here & do see the links below to more of them) & editor- JANSEN, ELSIE DE WOLFE-The Birth of the Modern Interior WITH legendary interiors photographer Derry Moore-who just happens to be the 12 Earl of Drogheda, makes This book THE book of the year.
& Oh goodie! from the Book's graphic designer Johnathan Barnbrook here- find a sneak peak on his <>
" Richly diverse in style and period, what these extraordinary interiors share is an eccentricity and a commitment to decorative aesthetics that has singled them out in the eyes of the world’s most discerning arbiters of taste. From an airy and colorful Moroccan palace to an austere but whimsical Scottish castle; from an Art Deco masterpiece in Jodhpur to Alphonse Mucha’s cluttered apartment in Prague; and from the museumlike home of one of London’s most macabre collectors to the extravagant remnants of Madrid’s aristocratic heritage... from Rizzoli IN HOUSE publisher & Amazon where You can pre-Order here.
Roads to MR. OWENS
"If you can get dressed, you can decorate a room. It just takes a little longer." MLO
Dinner with Charlotte Moss in honor of ...here (add Lecturer) Lunch with ALT & MLO- You're invited just gohere Read more About the Authorhere
Mrs Blandings and HOBAC write about IN HOUSE here & here
